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publication Tactical and Technical Trends. As with all wartime
intelligence information, data may be incomplete or inaccurate. No
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GERMAN
ROCKETS IN EIGHT DIFFERENT CALIBERS ARE NOW IDENTIFIED

Eight different calibers of German rockets have now been
identified: 70-mm, 86-mm, 88-mm,
150-mm, 210-mm, 280-mm, 300-mm, and
320-mm.

The several models of the recoilless antitank grenade launcher
(Faustpatrone; See New Hollow-charge Antitank Grenade, in this
issue) are not actually rockets, as is sometimes thought, because the
propelling charge is contained in the launching tube and not in the
grenade itself.

The 70-mm rocket was encountered in Tunisia. It is designed
for distributing propaganda leaflets. The launcher from which the
rocket is fired has not been recovered.

The 86-mm rocket has been used so far only as an antiaircraft rocket
in defense of Germany. The round contains 300 feet of steel cable with
a parachute attached at one end. The parachute opens at the top of
the rockets trajectory and supports the cable in the air as an aviation
hazard.

The 88-mm rocket is the counterpart of the projectile used in the
United States "bazooka." A hollow-charge rocket, it is fired from
the German equivalent of the "bazooka," designated the 8.8-cmR.P.B. 43, or from a tube with breechblock mounted on a carriage
(8.8-cm Raketenwerfer 43). Rocket projectiles for the "bazooka"-type
launcher are electrically fired; those for the carriage launcher are
percussion fired.

The 150-mm rockets appear in two types, high-explosive and smoke.
They are fired from the 6-barrelled15-cm Nebelwerfer 41,
the 10-barrelled15-cm Panzerwerfer 42, and
the 15-cm Do-Gerät 38. They
can be ignited either electrically or by time-cord and ordinary pull
igniters such as are used for the "egg-type" hand grenades.

The 210-mm rocket differs from the other rockets in that its shape
more closely resembles that of a standard artillery projectile. It is
fired from the five-barrelled 21-cm Nebelwerfer 42, which is similar
in design to the 15-cm Nebelwerfer 41. It is also fired from aircraft
against other planes. Of all the rockets the 210-mm is reported to
have the longest range, 9,950 yards. It has been encountered with
high-explosive filling only.

The 280-mm rocket also has been encountered with high-explosive
filling only. It resembles the 320-mm incendiary rocket. These
rockets both may be fired from their packing crates, the crates being
individually supported in an inclined pit or trench, or placed on either
the Schweres Wurfgerät 40 (a wooden rack), the Schweres
Wurfgerät 41 (a steel rack), or the Schwerer Wurfrahmnn 40 (six
plates on a half-track to hold packing crates). The 23/32-cm Nebelwerfer 41
launches 320-mm rockets, and can also launch 280-mm rockets upon
the addition of liners to each of its six launching frames, which are
mounted on a two-wheeled carriage.

The 300-mm rocket, the largest of the high-explosive rockets, is
very similar to the 280-mm rocket and to the 320-mm incendiary
rocket. The 300-mm rocket, however, has a much better streamlined
contour than either of the other two, and also has a much higher ratio
of propellant weight to total weight, which should give a range
considerably greater than that of 2,400 yards for the 280-mm and 320-mm
rockets.

Weights of the three rockets (in pounds):

280-mm HE

300-mm HE

320-mmincendiary

Weight as fired

180

278

176

Weight of propellant

14.25

33.2

14.5

Weight of filler

106.75

98.4

87.7

The 300-mm rocket is launched from its packing crate in the same
manner as the 280-mm and 320-mm rockets—as well as from the
30-cm Nebelwerfer 42. It can be used for demolition or against
personnel; but in either case the effect is gained chiefly by blast, since it
has little penetration and the thin walls of the HE head give comparatively
poor fragmentation.

The fuze employed in the 300-mm rocket is the same as for the
320-mm incendiary rocket, a point-detonating, instantaneous nose fuze
(Wgr. Z. 50). This fuze of aluminum with a zinc adapter is armed
by pulling the safety pin. On impact, the firing pin is driven into
the fuze primer, causing a flash to the detonator-booster, which in
turn sets off the main high-explosive charge, 98 pounds 6 ounces of 60-40 Amatol.

German 300-mm HE rocket projectile with carrying-crate launcher..

The high-explosive head is made in three sections of pressed steel
welded together and has a threaded hole in its nose to receive the
booster well. The German designation of the
projectile (30-cm WK 42 Spr.) is
stenciled in white about four inches below the nose. The
base of the head has interior threads for attaching the motor body.

The rocket motor and its components are similar in construction
and identical in operation to those of the 320-mm incendiary rocket.

The 320-mm rocket is an incendiary projectile, described in detail
in the August Tactical and Technical Trends.

Stability of flight in the case of all but the 88-mm rockets is achieved
by rotating the rockets in flight. This is effected by inclining the
Venturi propulsion jets at an angle to the center-line axis of the
rockets. The 88-mm rockets are stabilized by fills or vanes.

More detailed articles on various rockets and launchers may be
found in the following issues of Tactical and Technical Trends: